


Rooftops

by tinteophelia



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Divorce changes people, F/F, F/M, I want Chloe to stop living in a still world, M/M, So hwere it is, Sometimes in a bad way, Sometimes in a good way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-08-16 04:09:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinteophelia/pseuds/tinteophelia
Summary: Sometimes, a little breather can get you wonders.





	Rooftops

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ColetteIsAPotato](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColetteIsAPotato/gifts).

> I really just want to do my own take of how Chloe would react to her parents' divorce and how everyone around her would be affected by this. And maybe a bit of Lukloe, because you can never go wrong with that. Happy Near Birthday, ColetteIsAPotato!

Chloe sat on the foot of the hotel railings. The view of night Paris always had a profound way of taking her breath away. It calmed her, her and her nerves, her and her problems. She takes off her sunglasses and stared at it. It was ridiculous. So utterly ridiculous. Her mother would rather bring Marinette, a stranger, to New York and essentially take the young designer under her wing, rather than her own flesh and blood. She felt her tears grow. In many ways, she was still the little child her mother left so often to go to different places in the world, just because she deemed her job more important than her family. She bit her lip angrily. A horrible feeling blossomed in her chest and she hated how it gnawed her barriers. Gnawed the different walls she built around her. She stares at her glasses once more, the same glasses her mother used to wear until the woman threw it in a trash bin in a fit of anger. It was crooked when Chloe took it and a bit cracked but money had ways of fixing it. She growled at remembering the time she took to look through the trash bins, just to see if she can salvage something of her mother's. The young woman sighs and lets go of the sunglasses, letting it fall off her fingers and down to the ground. A satisfying thud was heard moments later and Chloe looked at her phone. Ten missed calls, forty-one unread messages. Mostly from her father and Sabrina, a few from Adrien and Marinette. She thoughtlessly looked through the messages before turning the device off. Glaring at nothing, in particular, her anger continued on bubbling. She lets go of her lower lip. Standing up, she takes one last breath before reentering the building. 

* * *

The next time she went up to the rooftop, it was because of her mother and father's arguing. They were still fighting over what the fashion critic had said about Chloe in front of media, how the only thing exceptional about the young woman was her mother. Chloe remembered laughing darkly, spitting in front of her mother, saying that her mother was the least exceptional thing in her life. She remembered seeing Adrien try to hug Chloe on the way out while the media was having a field day, how Marinette took in the situation but couldn't find anything to say. Even Mr. Cuddly couldn't help with the arguments that took over the hotel. It was hard, listening to her father shout at her mother about divorce, how her mother told her father that Chloe was an accident. It was painful. It was dulling. So she thought of taking a breather and head to her favorite place. The calmness of the night immediately gave her sooth. It felt relieving. From the corner of her eye, two dots hop from each building. Probably Ladybug and Chat Noir doing patrol. She wondered how it felt to be a hero, free of responsibilities and stress while jumping over national monuments. She shook her head, looking up in the sky. _Draco. Andromeda. Cancer. _She listed the constellations underneath her breath. Sabrina was always going to be the most academically adept, only in par with Max. Then Adrien, because Adrien's perfect that way. And then her. The teachers were always shocked when they see her perfect grades. They never think it was because she studied. Or because she listened. No, they always deduce that Sabrina let her read her paper while they weren't looking or that she used her father's influence in some way. It used to bother her. Now, she couldn't care less. Padded feet land on the roof floor. Only one superhero had padded soles. _Chat Noir._

"What are you doing here?" She says in a whisper, not looking away from the sky. Chat Noir silently let himself sit next to her, his ring still full bars. He didn't say anything, didn't have to. He could probably hear the screaming from three blocks away. They started pointing out the stars, how they looked beautiful in an angle and which constellation it belonged to. It made her reevaluate the superhero. Ladybug was the beam of light that shone through Paris and gave everyone hope. Chat Noir was always behind the scenes, talking to the victims, trying to give them the attention and assurance that things will be okay. Ladybug may be the beacon Paris wants and adores but Chat Noir would always be there when somebody stumbles and falls. He's reliable, like a best friend everyone would appreciate when times are tough. If she had to scale things, Ladybug is what Paris wants, but Chat Noir is what Paris needs. So when she watched the next round of witty banter between Chat Noir and Ladybug as they defeat the latest akuma of the day, Chloe felt herself root for the male and his love for Ladybug. In many ways, she felt closer to Chat rather than with Ladybug.

* * *

The third time was because the divorce papers had just been given approval. Her parents are officially free people. And yet it still hurts, how her parents could have been more than their arguments if only they've thought it more thoroughly. This time, Adrien was the one consoling her. He was rubbing her back, telling her sweet nothings. He let her cry for hours on his jacket, even when the snot became overbearing. He still stuck through though, because that's Adrien. Always the good guy. Always the knight in shining armor. It felt like old times when they would play pretend and he was the knight and she was the queen. The tears continued on flowing, and back then, it felt like it would never stop. It did at one point, however, because she remembered Adrien telling her gently that they should head back in. She remembered him bringing her to the front of her room, saying that she should get some night rest. She remembered thanking him, not just because of that day, but because he was always there when no one else was. Finally, she remembered him saying that even if the world is against them, they always got each other’s backs because that’s what friends do.

* * *

Fourth and fifth came easier. It’s been a few months since the divorce. Things were slowly going back to the way things were. However, it made Chloe think of a lot of things. About her past. About her perspective in life. About her stillness in a mass of chaos. She always knew she wasn’t the best of people but she couldn’t bring herself to realize that she was at the very top of the evil meter. She bullied, mocked, bribed and cheated through a lot of things. She was the reason why most of her classmates got akumatized. She even made Sabrina become a victim, all because of a petty reason. She was a horrible person and she acknowledges that. So she started doing little things. Just little things to help her classmates' lives get better. Some boxed cookies when they feel hungry, a small bracelet she made in an art seminar for Sabrina, a tiny amount of money for a new comic Nathaniel likes. Things that seem small but meaningful. Things everyone would learn to appreciate. Her efforts can be seen in full display and that's a much-needed breather for everyone from Chloe. Going up the rooftop helped her think through everything and she started to appreciate the hard work her father puts in the hotel. It another person's eyes, this was all just tiny steps. Really tiny steps. People who were used to being kind, to being a good person, they wouldn't even blink an eye at what she's doing. She accepts that. She was no Ladybug. But perhaps, maybe, just maybe, she can mold herself into a better person. 

* * *

Sixth was because of a blueberry tinted boy with piercings and black nails. It was shocking, how everyone passed this sort of person every single day, and how she was the lucky few to bump into him and see his gorgeous blue eyes. He grinned at her when he saw her staring, the kind of grin that gave you goosebumps. Honestly, she doesn't know what to make of it. Her heart was pounding erratically and her cheeks hot. She took a breath. Chloe went through worse things than this. She could certainly go through this evening party without staring at the boy too much. She took her seat, watching as he went upstage in front of her father's guests. He pulled out his guitar, gingerly holding it as if it was too precious and the melodic song he started singing burst out through his mouth and into her heart in ways she would have never imagined. The song sang of loneliness, of separation, of despair. It was too familiar, yet somehow still foreign. Only someone who lost their parents would know how it truly felt. She could only feel the tears that started pouring after he left the stage and for the first time after he signed the divorce papers, her father cried. Later that night, as she sits on the foot of the railings, all she could think about was that song, and how much she wanted to hear it again. Suddenly, a message from Juleka came. Surprised, partially because Juleka only ever texts her for group projects and other because it was so late at night, she glanced at it. 

_ **It was nice meeting you, pretty stranger. I'm Luka. **_

Next to it, a blueberry emoji with a proud smile. She huffed a little. To have been able to somehow find a way to contact her this soon, it was quite shocking, to say the least. Another ping suddenly came. She takes another look. At the sight, she started laughing out loud. 

It was his number. 

* * *

Seventh was her lastest visit. After a few months of talking, hanging out and essentially learning more about Luka, she plucked up the courage to ask him for a date. She could still remember the soft smile that contained that bright hope when she tried to ask him out. Even now, her stomach fluttered at the memory. She loves this feeling, the feeling that she more than the spoiled Chloe Bourgeois. She loves the fact that she rose above her ego and gave herself the push she needs to become better. So what if her mother didn't like this new personality? She was her own person and if her own mother couldn't even have the decency to remember her name, then she doesn't have the right to dictate who she should be. So when she went up the elevator and into the highest floor, she saw her little getaway and couldn't help but smile reminiscently. The rooftop holds a lot of memories. It was where she cried her heart out and where she felt something grow in said heart. To her, it was more than just a vacation spot. It was where her heart lingers. She pats the railings and sighed happily. Maybe she'll come back, maybe she'll not. But one thing's for sure, the rooftop was a happy place to be. 


End file.
